PS: Just as a warning, whatever you do, do NOT read the book I have suggested before bed. It may give you nightmares because some of it’s kind of gory.

*****

Here’s a brief summary of this book. It’s a collection of 36 slightly gory short stories. They’re a collection of short stories brought together by curators who want to show the world how alive stories can become. The curators are the authors of the stories. They are kind of pretending to be characters themselves by writing letters to each other themed on the stories.

One thing I liked was that they were kind of funny but in a gory way. One of my favorite stories was “The Sandman Cometh” by Claire Legrand, based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was a quest and it showed that you didn’t have to be brave to do something hard. In fact, Harvey, the main character, was given six tasks to complete to free his family after an awful wish. So even though he messed up on one, the Sandman actually–seeing that he completed the others well–was quite merciful. Although it was a bit of a challenge, Harvey freed his family.

There was one I hated because I think it’s going to give me nightmares. “Jack Shadow,” by Emma Trevayne, was about a shadow that was a living being, sort of. So he kills other shadows in order to take their places. He is kind of like Slappy from the Goosebumps books–very overconfident and expects everyone to bend to his will, although he is way more murderous and way more dangerous because for shadows the normal laws of gravity and physics don’t always apply. If you are easily creeped out by things like that, I’d suggest not reading it before bed or skipping it entirely.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes creepy but not-so-creepy stories and who does not have problems with very gory books. The book is practically a nightmare machine for some people. Make sure you have a good degree of resistance to nightmares before you read this. Overall it’s slightly darkly funny but a good book.

The book I’m reading and I’m going to review is called Victoria: Portrait of a Queen by Catherine Reef. This book is about Queen Victoria. It’s about her life with its ups and its downs a bit like a roller coaster. You’ll learn about her relationship with Prince Albert, her childhood and the years she was queen. She had very strong emotions and when she was angry she could really storm like a hurricane! She ruled for 64 years and had nine children.

I liked it a lot. I liked it so much I read it three times. My favorite of Queen Victoria’s children is probably Princess Louise. She was so stubborn she argued with Queen Victoria and said she wanted to choose her own husband. It took a lot to argue with the British monarch! Queen Victoria actually let her. I like reading about powerful women who show the world that we’re strong too.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes a stubborn, amazing, record-holding queen.

The book is about a pair of pirate twins called Grisly and Gruesome McNasty. They love treasure as much as they hate children and dentists. They especially hate Hetty and Tat, two friends who outwit them when they’re trying to look for treasure buried on the beach in Hetty and Tat’s hometown of Little Snoring. Hetty is very smart in school but not as smart in outwitting pirates (although she’s still quite good at it). Tat is not the best in school but he has very good eyesight because he eats six carrots each morning before breakfast and he’s very good at outwitting pirates, especially the McNastys. Now, these pirates are quite fearsome, but they lack wits. Hetty and Tat eventually trick the pirates, though it does take the whole book.

I liked that it was funny and that the pirates were not very smart. I liked that Mrs. Slime, their second mate, and Pegleg Polly the Parrot join Hetty and Tat. There were drawings on the pages and there were funny phrases for why the book is missing some chapters. (It still picks up from where the last chapter ended.)

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny book and anyone who needs a good laugh. I might recommend this book for ages 7-12. It’s really good for everyone but that’s just a recommended age.

The book’s name is I am Pusheen the Cat by Claire Belton. The entire book is about Pusheen’s life. When she can, she’ll try to “acquire treats.” In the fourth chapter Pusheen gets a little sister whose name is Stormy. Stormy sometimes does things Pusheen doesn’t like but there’s one picture that I think is really funny. It shows a broken flower vase with a puddle and Pusheen and Stormy.

There are a lot of pictures and I like that, and I like the captions. It’s fluffy — it isn’t the deepest thing you’ve read–but it’s very funny and I like it. I’d recommend it because she’s funny and she loves to eat like Garfield and sleep but she’s nice. I’d recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a funny book about cats. I would give it a five star rating.

(Bridget note: I love sharing my blog with other kid reviewers. If you know a kid who wants to be reviewer, let me know. They can review whatever book they want! I just want more kid voices.)